Let’s be clear: Today’s takedown has nothing to do with stopping prostitution. It’s about bringing down the governor of New York. There are three things you need to know before tonight’s cocktail-party chatter. Most people will get them wrong — and that’s the way the media wants it.

“Christin” won’t be found online. Don’t bother trolling the Internet Archive for her photo. The way high-end agencies work is the pics on the website aren’t the actual girls. Potential clients go in person to a madam after they make a deposit towards the first appointment. They then get to look at a photo book and decide who to hire from there.

There’s no such thing as a “$5,500/hour escort.” Agency-based prostitutes who command these rates don’t turn hourly tricks. These are evening, overnight, and weekend appointments. Spitzer wasn’t just “paying her to leave” after a blowjob, he was time-sharing a mistress.

Could it happen to YOU? No. You’ll never see a headline, “Prostitution Bust Nets 8 Alpha Geeks.” Federal prosecutors, who almost never make prostitution arrests, are using the Emperors Club to take down high-profile clients, just as Spitzer once did himself. Busting a bunch of techies gets nobody nothing. They’d sooner nab the newspaper editors and TV producers who’ll rush this story out today before going to their own appointments. If Jimmy Wales had hired, he’d have saved himself a lot of bad publicity.

The 5,500 an hour figure was taken directly from Emperor’s Club website. They listed hourly and day rates, and the Icon Models charging $5,500 an hour had a day rate of about $31,000. I was browsing that site several times in the last year, before this whole thing took place and captions of the rate page that are floating around seem accurate to me.
I too was extremely surprised to see that, but I can also see how some men would pay immense amounts for an hour of sex with a print model rather than a courtesan. I guess it’s like porn stars.

I also seriously doubt a client would go in person to see a madam these days. They were operating in multiple cities and internationally, with staff of only 4 people. I can imagine a password protected gallery available to existing clients only. A personal interview upon joining could also also feasible. But a business model that requires personal presence every time a client wants to see pictures would not be sustainable for the geographic scale of their operation.

Of course, I agree with your assessment. A client of mine once considered paying 10K to join another agency. The 10K would give him access via password to a section of the site on which he could see the photos of the most exclusive ladies represented by the agency (apparently well-known print models and actresses).

The photo album is the pre-‘net way that agencies operated… in the “olden days.” Lol! There are still agencies that work that way, of course- but they are way lower-profile and likely lower-volume. Secret little black books and all…